LEDs for Jon Boat

[fishman320]

Has anyone mounted the self adhesive LED strip lights in there flat bottom Jon boat. I am considering doing this an would like ideas of how/where people mounted them and did they last and work. Also, if people have pictures of the install to show that would be great. Thanks

 

[skyline223]

I used the generic stick on LED strips along the inner gunwale on my last build. Here's my findings:

Pros:
-Looked cool

Cons:
-LED's segments started to go out over time. After 3 months about 45% of the LEDs quit working. Bottom line is they don't hold up in the harsh environment (UV + Water exposure) that a boat is exposed to.

-The LEDs were way too bright. They illuminated the deck well, but made it so that you could barely see the water. If you had to land a fish, you had no chance of seeing it to net it. I ended up having to buy a LED dimmer and ran them at the lowest setting. It helped alot.

-Massive mosquito attractant.


On my current rebuild, I am going to use these:
https://www.amazon.com/Shoreline-Ma...1426876004&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=shoeline+led

They aren't very bright, so for me that is perfect. I am planning just to use two of them for the entire boat. At night it provides just enough light to see what you are doing out on the water and not become a mosquito breeding facility.

 

[Abraham]

I too bought the cheap strips but haven't installed them yet. I chose red for the interior(supposedly fewer bugs) and green for the outside. Will post pics once installed.

 

[RMull53]

i installed them under the little lip of each bench seat running port to starboard. it should illuminate the floor/lower area of my boat. they face downwards so they shouldnt be too bright on the eyes, i have yet to test them in the dark becuase i installed them earlier this week, then had to put the cover back on my boat because of this spring snow storm we just had. i dont have pics of them yet, but i can take a view in the next couple of days. aside from them being sticky on one side, i also used clear silicone caulk as an adhesive, that should keep them pretty well adhered to the boat. i am also going to install red ones next week. pics of those to come also.

 

[BigTerp]

I used LED modules from Oznium. Have held up great going on two years now. I ran 5 or so under the lip of my gunwale on each side of the boat and one on each side of my transom under the corner brace to light up the bilge area. They are all wired to a single switch on my switch panel. I went with red and they work really well to light up the boat at night without blinding anyone on board. I can re-bait my hook while catfishing without having to use any additional lights. Here are the ones I used.
https://www.oznium.com/rectangle-led-module

Here they are installed on my boat. Not the best pictures, but you should get the idea.

I also used these for my navigation lights. REALLY bright.
https://www.oznium.com/super-bright-12v-led-module

Here are the nav lights on my boat. This was during install and I have painters tape holding them on the bow while the 5200 cures.

 

[user 13737]

I have 4 of the shorelines in my alumacraft....they work great.

You can get them through BPS now as well...
https://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Slim-LED-Utility-Strip-Light/product/13080906163718/

Just enough light to get around at night...which is exactly what I wanted

I'm going to add a pair to the bow deck and livewell lid this year

 

[BIDZ]

I am curious as well. I want to add some lighting to the interior of my rig and have considered the led strips, but have yet to settle on anything at this point. I did use the led strips for my nav lights and they look awesome. I can't speak to their longevity, but I believe they will hold up over time. We shall see.

 

[huntinfool]

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[PsychoXP18CC]

Here's mine;


Red 5050 LED strips running the full length of each gunnel under the top rail pointing down at the decks, and full length green 5050's under the gunnel on the outside looking down. Red is great for not attracting bugs, and they don't ruin your night vision either. The green lights on the outside will draw bait and black out my fish finder to about 15' in much less than clear water. A cool side effect of the green lights is getting to watch the bats eat bugs on summer night trips.

Mine have been installed for a little over a year now, and all still work just fine. I bought the IP67 rated strips on Amazon (Supernight brand). The adhesive will eventually give up on any strip. I used Black 3M Weatherstrip Adhesive to stick'em to my boat, and don't anticipate having any trouble with them falling off anytime soon.

 

[PsychoXP18CC]

I'm curious about the nav light installs though. Are the installations shown here compliant with the proper viewing angles required by law? Texas law reverts to Coast Guard spec's, which is pretty particular on viewing angles.

I ask because it not only could be a legal issue, but also a liability issue should, heaven forbid, some night time accident with another vessel. Not criticizing at all, I like them and am thinking about figuring out how to make something similar work on my rig.

 

[huntinfool]

I live in Texas also, and my lights can be seen just as good as my old lights. Maybe not as good from the side, but I could add another light if I thought I needed it.
The nose of my boat is angled so they can be seen from the sides. I'm very confident that mine are legal. If you're not real sure ( different boat) just put them on a corner. That way they can be seen from the front and side.

 

[phillip75]

I have some green LED lights on mine. They are the greatest. They don't seem to draw bugs like white. I bought a 16'ft strip and cut them in half. Put half on each side of the boat.